Chapter 3

Chapter 3: After Meeting Tom, Adrian Felt that Something Was Off

"By the way, Tom, how did you end up here?" Adrian asked.

Tom stood up and gestured energetically, but Adrian couldn't make sense of it. He stopped him, saying, "Wait, wait, wait. You can speak, right?"

Adrian remembered that Tom was a linguistic master, proficient in multiple languages from various countries, including local dialects of China. Why didn't he just speak?

Tom's first words brought a strong sense of familiarity to Adrian: "Talking too much has strained my voice and given me a headache."

Adrian nodded, understanding that speaking human languages might be uncomfortable for Tom due to their different anatomies. But then he wondered, were Tom's internal structures different from those of an ordinary cat's?

"Can you write then?" Adrian suggested, not wanting to force Tom to speak if he didn't want to.

Tom nodded, raised a finger, and used a sharp claw to scratch marks on a nearby wooden board.

The neatly printed characters resembled typed text, making Adrian feel a bit embarrassed.

After a few minutes, combining the words on the wooden board with Tom's gestures, Adrian understood Tom's story. It turned out that Tom had been very sad after being kicked out of his home. At that moment, a contract appeared before him. The general content of the contract was:

[Summon Tom to another world to help Adrian overcome difficulties. Tom can make reasonable requests, and the contract takes effect after signing.]

After some thought, Tom signed the contract and wrote down his request: [Make Adrian Tom's new owner and let Tom become a happy house cat.]

Adrian was dumbfounded. Was this what they called a "freebie"?

Did Tom have some sort of logic problem? Although the contract wasn't created by Adrian, he couldn't shake off the feeling that he was enticing an ignorant cat.

Adrian touched his conscience and asked, "Tom, with your abilities, couldn't you have lived well on your own? Why did you need to find an owner?"

Tom shook his head and wrote a few more lines: "A cat with an owner is a house cat; a cat without an owner is a stray cat. Stray cats go hungry, suffer from cold, and get bullied. I want to be a house cat."

After finishing, Tom looked at Adrian cautiously, as if afraid of being rejected.

Adrian was left speechless by Tom's powerful reasoning. After a moment, he reached out and patted Tom's head, struggling to say, "Well, from now on, I'll be your owner. As long as I have something to eat, you'll have something too. I'll work hard to give you a warm home."

Adrian remembered that aside from playing with Jerry, Tom's favorite activities were napping by the fireplace and raiding the refrigerator. With Tom around, a lavish dinner table would be in jeopardy.

A normal household couldn't afford to keep Tom.

Adrian realized that if he wanted to take care of Tom, he would have to work hard to earn money. It seemed like a daunting task.

Tom received a definite answer and happily rubbed his head against Adrian's palm.

According to Tom's description, this place was a different world for him. It might be the same for Adrian, but neither of them knew where they were.

At this point, Adrian began examining the circular pattern on the back of his left hand. The internal lines of the magic array were dim, and only the outer circle was clearly visible. According to Tom's description, this was probably what had summoned him.

Could they use this to escape?

Adrian cautiously poked at it with his finger, and the circle lit up. In the center, a number "3%" appeared, resembling the screen he saw when his phone was charging.

"Is this thing out of power?"

Adrian naturally voiced his thoughts and absentmindedly reached for his pocket, only to realize his phone was missing. All he had left were his ear studs and pendant.

Adrian scratched his head and came up with a hypothesis. He realized he needed to figure out how to charge it, but they lacked the necessary conditions.

Tom tilted his head, watching Adrian's actions with confusion.

Adrian smiled and said, "Alright, Tom, as you can see, we're adrift on the sea. We need to find land and gather some food and water."

Speaking of food, Adrian's stomach rumbled again.

Tom quickly grabbed his small bundle and handed it to Adrian.

Adrian looked at the three cans of fish and the stack of bills inside the bundle. He knew this was all Tom had when he left home. To be honest, Adrian was moved.

"I can endure a little longer. Let's try fishing first. We'll keep the cans for emergencies."

Tom patted his chest, signaling that he would take care of it. He then picked up the wooden stick he had carried out and took Adrian's shoelace and a keyring-made fishhook to create a makeshift fishing rod.

After a while, with no success, Tom looked a bit frustrated. Without bait, fishing was proving to be quite challenging.

They were drifting along the waves, and with limited food, setting up a fishing net was not feasible. It was difficult to catch fish without bait.

They had no choice but to open a can of fish. The metal can had a knob on the side that, when twisted, would roll the lid open.

Inside the can were six small fish, each about a foot long. Adrian and Tom split them evenly.

Adrian, feeling ravenous, devoured the first fish, almost crunching through the bones. By the second and third fish, he had regained his composure.

Adrian picked out some fish scraps and juice from the can, smeared it on the fishhook, and handed it to Tom for fishing.

Using fish to catch fish—Adrian wondered if that would work. It should attract carnivorous fish, right?

Adrian didn't want to waste the can, so he planned to use it with the glass bottle that had contained milk to distill some fresh water.

He filled the can with seawater, placed the empty milk bottle upright in the center of the can, and then realized he needed something. "If only I had a piece of plastic wrap…"

A sheet of transparent plastic wrap appeared in front of Adrian.

"Thanks," Adrian said, taking the plastic wrap and contemplating how to set it up.

Five seconds later.

"Huh?"

"This doesn't make sense. Where did the plastic wrap come from?"

Adrian stared at Tom's back, puzzled. He said in a low voice, "If only I had a small stone…"

A fingernail-sized stone appeared in Tom's hand and was handed over to Adrian.

Adrian exclaimed, "!!!"

Perhaps due to Adrian's delayed reaction, Tom turned back, looking at him with a quizzical expression.

Adrian decided to be direct. "Tom, just how much stuff do you have behind you, and is there anything we can use right now?"

Tom considered for a moment, then began taking things out one by one:

Mouse traps, firecrackers, matches, cigars, rope, blindfold… various odds and ends formed a small mountain. There were even two revolvers among them, a pair of Colt Single Action Army pistols.

Adrian thought for a moment. It seemed reasonable for a cat who had been a cowboy

before to carry two revolvers, right? Too bad they didn't have food or water.

Adrian found a few thin sticks from the pile and started devising a device to distill fresh water.

He used the plastic wrap to cover both the can and the glass bottle, placing the small stone on top of the plastic wrap to weigh it down and direct the condensed water into the bottle.

Looking at his creation, Adrian proudly showed it to Tom. "See, Tom, with this, we'll have fresh water tomorrow or even tonight!"

Tom, who was sitting at the edge of the wooden board, fishing, turned his head upon hearing Adrian's voice.

Comparing the makeshift distillation apparatus with Tom's, Adrian couldn't help but feel defeated. Tom effortlessly disassembled and reassembled the device in a way that made Adrian feel like an amateur.

The metal box and glass bottle were secured together with thin ropes to prevent them from tipping over on the rough sea. The glass bottle was wrapped in cloth to reduce water evaporation, and the support for the plastic wrap was reinforced. The seal on the plastic wrap was also tighter.

Seeing the before and after, Adrian felt like a beginner attempting a complicated task in front of an expert.

Tom sat back down and continued fishing, as if he had accomplished something minor. This was what they called a feeling of defeat, wasn't it? Adrian felt like he could cling to Tom's thigh as an accessory.